Wednesday, August 03, 2016

Writer Wednesday--Jenna Ives

Very
human Tau Cetus police agent Jai Turner is sent undercover as a Beautiful Dolls
sex robot in order to bring down the planet's most notorious arms dealer,
Marque Callex.

Reclusive
arms dealer Marque Callex only accepts an invitation from Beautiful Dolls
because with his deadly line of work – and the dangerous secrets he’s keeping –
he can't afford to let a real woman into his life.

But
neither Jai nor Marque are what they seem, and their week together has
consequences neither expect.

This
book is a HOLT medallion merit award-winner.

Excerpt:

“Turner, I’m
sending you undercover as a Beautiful Dolls sex toy.”

Police agent Jai
Turner stared at her boss, Commander Talis Rainey, convinced she couldn’t
possibly have heard him right. She and her partner, Leith Wyatt, had been
called into his office at the end of their duty shift. It had been a long day,
as they all were on Tau Cetus in this post-apocalyptic era, and she was in no
mood for a joke.

She shifted tiredly
on her feet in front of his desk. “Sir?”

For an answer,
Rainey leaned forward in his chair and pushed a button on the console on his
desk. “Send in Mr. Carron.”

A minute later, a
short man stood in the doorway. His eyes darted around nervously as he checked
out the spartan office before taking an apparently reluctant step into the
room. He was such a stereotype that Jai felt herself stiffen. Thick glasses…
hair askew… frankly, all he needed was a lab coat with a pocket protector to
complete the picture. Savant. Adept.
Carbon-copier.

Maybe her boss hadn’t been making a joke.

Rainey cleared his
throat. “This is Anson Carron. The creator of Beautiful Dolls.”

If the abrupt and
impersonal introduction annoyed their guest, he didn’t show it. His eyes had
locked on Jai, and were scanning her up and down in a way that felt decidedly
intimate despite the generic, navy blue one-piece uniform that she and everyone
else on the Tau Cetus police force wore.

The little man
seemed lost in his own train of thought. “She meets his prime criteria. Of
course, it would be better if I could see her without her clothes on before I
make a final assessment.”

What
the hell? Jai
stiffened even more. “Commander!”

Rainey let out a
loud sigh, then glanced at Jai and the two men. “Sit. All of you.”

The three of them
took the hard chairs arrayed around Rainey’s desk. Jai crossed her arms and
legs defensively, and even Wyatt turned his chair around to straddle it. It was
obvious neither one of them anticipated liking whatever the Commander might be
about to say.

Rainey ran a hand
through his grey-black hair and looked at the partners. “Before I start, I
haveone thing to say to you two. Marque Callex.”

Jai gasped. “What?”

That changed
everything. The infamous name had both her and Wyatt leaning forward in their
chairs, now eagerly waiting for Rainey’s next words.

“You know how long
we’ve been trying to get close to this guy. We may now have a chance, albeit by
a very unconventional route.” Rainey nodded toward their guest. “A month ago,
Mr. Carron here ran afoul of the law. No need to get into the specifics, but in
an effort to save his neck – and his very lucrative business – he suggested a
unique proposal in return for us not pursuing charges against him.”

“What kind of
proposal?” Wyatt asked.

“A clever one, as
it turns out.” Rainey smirked. “Mr. Carron agreed to send out an… invitation… to Marque Callex, in the
guise of offering ‘a select number of high-powered businessmen’ the chance to
sample the latest model of Beautiful Doll for free, in exchange for their
feedback on the product. In reality, Callex was the only person to get this
invitation.”

Jai’s mouth set in
a disgusted line. “And he accepted.”

“He did,” Rainey
confirmed. “It was a gamble, but it paid off. In this supposed ‘latest model,’
clients are able to customize their girl. Callex filled out the form specifying
the criteria of his ideal Beautiful Doll, and now all we have to do is fulfill
his requirements.” The Commander gave Jai a pointed stare. “With you.”

Jai let out a
relieved breath. “Well, that rules me out then. I’m brown-haired and
brown-eyed.”

“Easily fixed,” her
boss pointed out. “You fit the most important characteristic: athletic build.
We can’t fake that, but we can correct the other things with hair dye and
contact lenses.”

Jai leaned forward
in her chair. “Sir, do you really believe a man who can have any model of girl
he wants, would pick a B-cup and not a triple-D? For a sexbot? Come on, Commander. Are you sure Callex is even serious
about this?”

Rainey stroked his
chin thoughtfully, and then shrugged. “Well, we’ll have our answer on Monday,
if he shows up at the Beautiful Dolls boudoir. Until then, prepping you for the
assignment is the way we’re going to proceed. That is, if you’re agreeable.”

Jai scowled. There
was absolutely no way she was going to volunteer for this. Have sex on command?
Not a chance. Not even to bring down a man they’d long been after for suspected
weapons smuggling. Besides, she could never pass for a sexbot. She had a heartbeat, for goodness sake!

Rainey sighed into
the stubborn silence. “Do I really need to play the Joran Breaux card with
either of you?”

A spark of anger
shot through Jai, even as she heard Wyatt shift uncomfortably on his chair.
Joran was the second – and definitely much more personal – reason they were after Marque Callex. Joran had been
sent in to infiltrate Callex Industries from the inside, to discover how one of
the government’s top weapons contractors was secretly diverting arms to
militant countries. Joran’s cover as an employee had seemed secure until two
months ago, when the police force had lost contact with him on the very day
he’d scheduled a meeting with Marque Callex. Three weeks later, Joran’s body
had turned up – in pieces – in a recycling center a hundred clicks away.

Joran had been
Wyatt’s partner before Jai.

Jai would relish
the chance to avenge the death of a fellow Tau Cetus agent, but was becoming a
sex slave really the best way to do it?

Rainey scowled.
“You know how long we’ve been trying to get to Marque Callex. This may be our
best chance. But if you’re not up to it, Turner, I’ll find another female agent
with athletic build who’s more committed to her job.”

Crap. Now Rainey
was doubting Jai’s dedication to the force.Silence stretched in the room while
Jai considered her options. Her very limited
options. As in, none. “I’ll do it.”

“What?”

Jai’s mouth set
into a mulish line. What real choice did she have? Marque Callex needed to be
stopped.

“I said I’ll do it.
If this is our best – and possibly only
– chance to get to him, then I’m in.”

Programmed
To Please is the first in a series of police agents and sex robots called The
Tau Cetus Chronicles. In the sequel Programmed To Protect, Leith Wyatt falls in
love with a sexbot named Ginger, and in the final book of the trilogy,
Programmed For Power, the planet’s premier, Theus, is torn between a real woman
– the enemy who makes him feel alive – and the sexbot Keira who’s the perfect
match for his lifeless existence.

Bio:
Award-winning author Jenna Ives writes for several publishers under a variety
of names, but mainly it's to protect her poor sainted mother (who used to read
sweet Harlequin novels) from discovering how sexy modern romances have
become. And Jenna DOES write sexy... You can connect with Jenna at www.jennaives.com, email jenna@jennaives.com, Twitter @JennaIvesAuthor
or on Facebook. You can also check out her multi-author blog at http://fierceromance.blogspot.com